Black & White
by Sweet Adversary
Summary: In conflicts, a side must always be chosen. But is it that simple?


Hey everyone, it's been a while but I've finally written something again. Hopefully my current enthusiasm will continue and I'll get quite a bit done over the next few days. No college to worry about anymore, only work, giving me more free time. Anyway, enjoy, and please review.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy 7, or anything in this story.

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**Black & White**

**Prologue**

Black. That's all I can see. It's hard to breathe; it feels like a ten tonne weight is bearing down on my chest. Most of my body is numb, which I am thankful for. If it wasn't, I know it would be burning with pain. The blackness is suddenly interrupted.

White. Squinting, I try to make sense of my surroundings. The white is coming from an electric light above me that has just flickered on. I turn my head to the side, stopping when I feel intense pain shooting up my neck. Precariously, I continue moving my head. I'm lying in a small puddle of red. Blood. My blood. I'm suddenly aware of a stinging pain in my forehead, where I'm assuming there is a cut of some kind.

Black. The light has gone out again, leaving me alone with my pain. I try to remember how long I've been lying here, try to remember exactly what happened. My memory is hazy.

White. The blinding light is back again. I close my eyes tight, but pain forces them open again. I take another look at my surroundings, looking for clues to what happened, hoping to trigger my memory. I notice sparks coming from a computer lying on the floor, a few metres from me. I know what's going to happen. My memory comes back to me, just as the computer explodes.

Black.

**Chapter 1**

The explosion was immense, shaking the windows of the very top floor of the Shinra headquarters. At seventy storeys high, that must've been quite an explosion. I was shocked, but not entirely surprised. My father was quite the benevolent leader in the eyes of most of Midgar's citizens, but there were many in the slums that saw him for what he truly was. It was quite admirable that someone out there actually had the bravado to do something about it. I stood there on the seventieth floor, in my father's office, admiring the wreckage of the Sector One Reactor. That little act of terrorism was going to cost father an awful lot to put right. Smirking, I turned around just in time to see him walk up the stairs, a flustered looking Reeve following close behind. Nothing unusual there. A scrawny little man, Reeve Tuesti was head of the Urban Development department, and was always panicking about something.

"Sir, this – this is not good! Think of the casualties!"

"Reeve, I am well aware of the situation." My father, President Shinra walked to his desk and picked up the phone, "Susan, call all of the department heads to the conference room. It's time we discussed our little _problem_."

"Well you've really messed up this time, old man," Still smirking, I turned to my father, "They won't last long, you said. That was _five_ years ago!"

"This doesn't concern you Rufus. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting to attend to."

"What about me? I'm the Vice President!"

"As I said, this doesn't concern you." And with that, my old man waltzed back out of his office, his faithful young executive at his heels.

I knew who was behind the bombing as much as he did. AVALANCHE had been around since the end of the war. An eco-terrorist organisation hell-bent on the destruction of the company, they were a real threat to both the city, and Shinra. I took one last look at the wreckage, and made my way downstairs, smiling to myself.

"Excuse me, Mr Vice President?"

I stopped on the stairs to find my father's secretary blocking my path.

"The President has a request of you…"

"What is it?" I snapped. I knew it would be a stupid little errand, anything to keep me out of the way while he cleaned up his mess. Something any lowly employee would be perfectly capable of.

"Reno and Tseng of the Turks have been training potential new recruits in Junon…"

"Get to the point."

Susan continued, unfazed by my anger. She had spent five years working for my father, and in that time, it seemed, had developed quite a thick hide when it came to taking abuse.

"However, the President has requested the presence of these two in Midgar, so you are to travel to Junon and stand in for them."

I stood there, taken aback by what I'd just heard. My father wanted me to be a _substitute teacher _for Tseng and that drunkard while they were performing a mission here? Preposterous. I knew I could perform better than even the two best Turks on any job my old man had. He merely wanted me out of the way. I was the only one in the company that wasn't afraid to challenge him, to question his authority, and he knew it. He saw me as a thorn in his side, slowly working to weaken him, and eventually take over. Of course, this was practically true. I couldn't stand the way my father ran the company, and I knew I could do a much better job.

"Out of my way Susan." I pushed past my father's secretary and made my way to the conference room.

Standing outside the door, I had a loud obnoxious voice giving a long winded speech, and following it with a noise that would sound more at home in a farmyard. As I entered, I saw the source of this auditory pollution sitting around the table with the four other department heads and my father.

"And so, the Air Buster is on standby, ready for when it is needed sir."

Heidegger, head of Public Safety Maintenance, sat there like a fat little puppy, waiting to receive praise from its master. His master, however, had been distracted.

"Rufus," My father sighed as I stood in the doorway, "I rather hoped you'd be on the way to Junon by now."

"That's why I'm here. I don't see why I should be shipped out for a babysitting job when I'm perfectly capable of handling anything you need doing here."

"The Turks are required in the city," Heidegger piped up, at an unnecessarily high volume, "They are required to capture the Ancient."

I smirked, "The Ancient…"

There was a young woman living in Midgar that was believed to be the last of the Cetra. Professor Hojo captured this woman and her mother shortly after her birth. Due to the incompetence of this company's employees though, they escaped seven years later, leading to the death of the mother.

"Fine," I said, "I'll go to Junon."

A look of surprise appeared on my father's face, but it was hastily replaced with a smile.

"Good. The helicopter is ready and waiting."

I nodded and left the room, still smirking. They'd been attempting to capture the Ancient for the past fifteen years, returning empty handed after every attempt. She lived with her mother in the sector five slums, there was nothing to stop them just walking into her house and taking her. But that wasn't how the Turks liked to operate. I decided to go to Junon, because I knew, that when I returned, another failed attempt of kidnap would have occurred, and my father would yet again, have made an embarrassment of himself.

Whilst making my way back upstairs, I stopped when I heard a shrill voice calling my name. I turned to find Mayor Domino bumbling towards me.

"Ah! Rufus! Glad I caught you. Everyone's been running around like headless chickens since the explosion! What happened?"

I stared at him in disbelief.

"What happened? What do you mean _what happened_?" I asked him with only the slightest hint of contempt, "You're supposed to be the mayor!"

Domino visibly flinched, "I… I know… But the President…"

I sighed in disgust, "You'll never be a sufficient mayor if you can't stand up to him."

The mayor cowered like a scorned child, looking down at his feet.

"You're pathetic. Everyone is this company is pathetic."

I turned my back on the so called _mayor_, and continued my journey to the helipad.

Approaching the helicopter, I saw the pilot leaning against the vehicle smoking a cigarette. What was it with pilots and smoking? As if there wasn't already a lack of oxygen at that altitude. I walked up to him, took the cigarette from his mouth and trod on it.

"Hey! Oh, Rufus, it's you."

"Filthy habit," I said, "You should really give up."

"Uh… Of course sir, are you ready to go to Junon?"

I didn't feel the need to answer that question, choosing instead to climb into the helicopter.

"Of course you are." The pilot muttered, rushing to join me.

The rotors slowly started turning, gradually picking up speed until we rose from the ground. Looking out of my window, I admired the heap of flaming rubble that was once the Sector One Reactor as we flew over. I couldn't help but smile.


End file.
